Paper can



' J. G. WITTE Nov. 6, 1934.

PAPER CAN Filed July 29, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet l W?INVE NTO R NEY J. G. WlTTE Nov. 6, 1934.-

PAPER CAN Filed July 29, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet JQW BY 2 I W EY PAPER CAN James G. Witte, Keokuk, llowa, assignor of onehalf to Howa Fiber Box @ompany, Keokulk,-

llowa, a corporation of Delaware, and one-half to South West Box Company, Sand Springs, Qkla, a corporation of Delaware Application July 29, 1932, Serial No. 626,131 6 ill. (Cl. 229-55) This invention relates to containers and, among other objects, aims to provide an improved reinforced paper can which may replace the standard metal cans in which ice-cream is commonly packed for the retail trade, the particu ar object being to provide a paper can which may be nested, for economy in shipping and storage space, yet may be tightly closed at the top by a flanged cover or lid, and will have a strong and leakproof bottom construction. The invention provides a container which promotes sanitary practices, as it is so inexpensive that it may be discarded after one use, thus obviating the handling, shipping and cleaning expenses which are inherent in the use of standard metal cans.

In the drawings showing a preferred embodiment of the invention,-

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the paper can, shown without the lid;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional View taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line i-l of Fig. 2, but drawn to the scale of'Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a plan view on a reduced scale of the blank from which the can is made;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 2, and drawn to the same scale, but showing a modified form of construction; and

Fig. '7 is a similar view showing a further modified form.

Paper containers are in use for holding small quantities of ice-cream and other foodstuffs but so far as I know, there are no satisfactory paper cans, capable of holding one to ten gallons of ice-cream or other semi-solids, which can withstand the usage which such containers receive in shipping, trucking and refrigerating. The present invention provides improved paper cans which meet all of the requirements of the ice-cream trade and which may also be nested so as to require a minimum of space during shipment or when stored empty.

Referring particularly to the drawings, there is shown a paper can 10 having a frusto-conical body portion 11, the large end being at the top of the can, so that the empty cans may be nested. The body is conveniently formed by wrapping a sheet of iiber board, preferably treated so as to be water-proof, around a tapered mandrel and securing the overlapping edges together by stitches 12, applied by a stitching head of known construction.

So thata flanged lid or cover. notshown, may

be frictionally secured on the container and also to provide a shoulder for engagement by lifting devices, the upper portion of the can is provided with a cylindrical collar 13, which is herein shown as being integral with the side wall of the can. 0 The blank 14, from which the body of the can is made, as shown in Fig. 5, comprises a single sheet of paper having upwardly diverging side edges 15 and 16, and the upper and lower edges of the blank are generally arcuate so that when the blank is bent into frusto-com'cal shape, the top and bottom edges will be parallel. The upper end of the blank is adapted to be bent on several arcuate, concentric score lines 17, 18, 19 and 20 to form and to reinforce the cylindrical collar 13. The portion of the blank above score line 17 is bent outwardly and downward y, then bent inwardly on line 18, upwardly on line 19 and downwardly on line 20, the upright portion between lines 19 and 20 abutting against the side of the t9 can and the upright portion between line 20 and the edge of the blank abutting the collar 13. That portion of the blank between lines 18 and 19 forms an annular shoulder 21 (Fig. 2) under which a conventional lifting device may be en- 88 gaged to raise the can from a refrigerating cabinet or from a truck body. It will be clear from Fig. 2 that the upwardly and downwardly bent portions inside of collar 13 provide a wedgeshaped filler strip or reinforcing insert for the collar. To enable the blank to be bent into circular form on the various score lines, notches 22 and 23 are cut out in the blank to permit it to expand and contract. The notches 22 extend across the flange 21 and upwardly into the adjacent upright portions of the blank to permit the material to expand at the outer edge of the shoulder 21 and to contract along the inner edge, on account oi the difference in diameter at these points. The notches 23 are formed in the upper edge of the blank, and are adapted to aline with the notches 22 at the bottom of the collar 13, as shown in Fig. 1, to permit locking devices (not shown) to be inserted through the openings formed by the 1100 notches to lock the cans in a refrigerating cabinet, thus preventing a partly empty can from rising out of the refrigerant. As the side edges of the blank are overlapped, the upper portions of the blank at their side edges above the score line 17 1 are cut away as indicated at 24, so that when the can is bent into proper shape, the ends of the collar will abut, as at 25. The abutting edges.

" may be secured together in any desired manner,

for instance, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. l, C

by a few stitches from the stitching head which was referred to above.

The lower end of the blank is provided with a series of integral wedge-shaped tongues 26, which are adapted to be bent inwardly on a score line 27 (Fig. 5) to provide an inner or bottom flange. See Figs. 2 and 4. A disk 28 is secured as by an adhesive to the upper surfaces of the tongues, the diameter of the disk being such that it tightly engages the side walls of the can, requiring considerable force to be thrust into final position. A flanged cap is secured to the bottom of the container, the cap comprising a disk 29 and a circumferential flange 30, the lower edge of the flange and the edge of the disk being rolled into a reinforcing bead 31. The diameter of the flange is such that, when the disk 29 abuts against the underside of the tongues 26, the upper-edge of the flange will tightly engage the side wall of the can. The bottom may be secured in place by glue or stitching or both. Obviously, when the bottom cap is in position, the bottom will be substantially of three-ply construction.

To indicate the amount of ice-cream or other material in the container, notches or darts 32 are cut in one side edge 15 of the blank, this edge being on the inside of the can when it is formed. The notches may be so placed as to indicate gallons, half-gallons or any other quantity desired.

In the modification shown in Fig. 6, the cylindrical collar 13 is bent downwardly from the upper end of the frusto-conical body 11 and the flange 21 is inclined downwardly to the side wall, being secured thereto by a flange 33 which is integral with the shoulder 21 and stitched to the side walls of the can. In the form shown in Fig. 7, the flange 13 shoulders 21 and 33 are formed on the can 11 in the same manner as shown in Fig. 6. In addition, a filler strip 34, which is substantially wedge-shaped in cross section, is provided in the space between the collar 13 and the side wall of the can to further reinforce the collar 13'.

As the paper used in the construction of the cans is specially treated to make it moistureproof, the cans are particularly adapted for use with ice-cream, butter, lard or other similar materials.

The reinforced collar at the top, the glued disks and tongues, together with the flanged cap at the bottom, result in a strong and durable container which will stand much abuse, which is inexpensive and which may be nested with other like containers to save a great deal of shipping or storage expense.

Obviously, the present invention is not restricted to the particular embodiment thereof herein shown and described.

What I claim is:

1. A nesting container comprising a frustoconical body made of a single sheet of paper whose edges are overlapped and secured together; an outer cylindrical collar integral with and bent downwardly from the upper edge of the body; an annular flange providing a shoulder integral with and bent inwardly from the lower edge of the collar; an upright portion bent upwardly from the inner edge of the flange and abutting against the side wall of the body; a second upright portion bent downwardly from the upper end of the first upright portion and abutting the inside face of the collar; said shoulder and adjacent upright portions of the collar having upwardly extending notches therein.

2. A nesting paper can comprising a frustoconical body, the upper, larger end of which is bent downwardly on itself to form an outside collar whose outer face is cylindrical; the lower edge of said collar being inwardly bent toward the side wall of the can to form an annular shoulder; and a filler strip, which is generally wedge-shaped in cross-section and which has its small end' uppermost, occupying the space between the wall forming the collar and the side wall of the can and reinforcing the collar against collapsing.

3. A nesting paper can comprising a frustoconical body, the upper end of which is bent downwardly on itself to form an outside collar whose outer face is cylindrical; the lower edge of said collar being inwardly bent to provide an annular shoulder; and notches cut at intervals in the collar and extending upwardly from the shoulder.

4. A blank for paper receptacles comprising a single sheet of heavy, treated paper having diverging sides and an arcuate edge at the end which is uppermost when the receptacle is set-up,

cut-outs 22 equally spaced from the upper, arcuate edge, and a series of notches 23 in said upper, arcuate edge adapted to register with the several cut-outs, the lower edge being also generally arcuate so that the blank may form a frusto-conical receptacle body.

5. A blank as claimed in claim 4 wherein the side edges are each cut away for a short distance adjacent the upper, arcuate edge.

6. A blank, as claimed in claim 4, wherein one of the side edges is notched at regular intervals, and the other side edge is straight.

JAIVIES G. WITTE. 

